Is interesting how small arenas usually make the product look cheap compared to WWE but ECW's small arenas made it look more special. It made it look private,intimate and you could feel the exctiment,apprication and love in the air both from wrestlers and fans.

@dolosavage6295

Жыл бұрын

Me and your wife were intimate yesterday

@aegaeon117

Жыл бұрын

ECW were the most loyal fans ever.

@clintdeangelis5082

Жыл бұрын

Wow....

@BobSayG

Жыл бұрын

Best pro wrestling shows (njpw) i watched in Japan were all smaller venues 2000-4000 capacity. On the other hand, big arena shows feel less energetic if it’s not full house.

@ZeeWolfgang

Жыл бұрын

Appreciation *

Dang. Cultaholic managed to condense The Rise and Fall of ECW from a 3 hour documentary into 20 minutes. Way to go

@JuliusC1973

2 жыл бұрын

And summed it up rather well, if I do say so. I hold TNN more responsible for The Fall of ECW more than anyone else, that's just my opinion.

@jeyDsixx18

2 жыл бұрын

Yea but I still enjoy going back once in a while to rewatch it.

@BringSomeNoise

2 жыл бұрын

@@JuliusC1973 The Between The Sheets podcast did a Patreon subscriber special series on the end of ECW that did a great job of getting into how much of the problems were TNN intentionally using ECW as a stepping stone to getting Raw and how much was Paul hurting the relationship by not doing things he had agreed to do (e.g. re-airing old PPV matches on the first ECW on TNN show instead of the first run content that he was contracted to provide)

@MrZappaman420

Жыл бұрын

@@JuliusC1973 I agree 100% They NEVER promoted ECW as they should have!

@tysoncarpenter8628

Жыл бұрын

Where is this 3 hour one at? That's the one I want to watch lol

Paul Hayman also pioneered the corporate idea of "How long will people work if we continue not to pay them?"

@Whogrl16

Жыл бұрын

which Dixie Carter and TNA also managed to do

@BoboMcBooboy

Жыл бұрын

It was actually worse 😅 - beyond not paying - can we get them to dip into their savings as well?!?

@shashanknegi7647

Жыл бұрын

That's a Jew, 🤣

@andrewramsdale

Жыл бұрын

@@BoboMcBooboy the only one that I know of that used savings was dreamer but he also helped run a few things in ecw I know he paid a few people out of his pocket

@dionruffin3996

Жыл бұрын

That’s a paddlin

The similarities between ECW and ROH are huge. Especially acting as a feeder system for a „war“. Hopefully ROH‘s story isn‘t over yet.

@MentalLiberation

2 жыл бұрын

Agreed

@RickC28

2 жыл бұрын

Fun fact. Paul Heyman has said if they weren't have been bankrupt they would have gone into a Shoot-Style wrestling company like ROH would be. He was planning on bringing CM Punk during this time.

@vixenofthedead

2 жыл бұрын

aged like milk

@FishHead84

2 жыл бұрын

Gabe sapolsky, one of ring of honors founders and original bookers worked as an assistant to Paul in ecw so no surprise there.

@supersasukemaniac

Жыл бұрын

ROH was originally founded as a spiritual continuation of the wrestling/Non-deathmatch side of ECW.

The abrupt ending to this vid was an awesome reflection of the abrupt ending of ECW itself

I miss the ECW arena soooooo much! Even in the middle of winter it was hot, crowded and cramped, and stunk like piss, stale beer and pot smoke. But when you were there you were with family. There was nothing else like it or at least anything I've ever seen before!

@MrZappaman420

Жыл бұрын

RVD was the reason for the pot smoke smell! LOL

@andrewramsdale

Жыл бұрын

@@MrZappaman420 also fans probably

If ECW had good financial power, chances are it'd be still alive today as the #2 promotion in North America. Paul Heyman may have some crazy ideas, but he knew how to make stars. Give him creative freedom with *some restrictions* and he can work magic. All one has to do is look at the "normal" matches as proof. Many classics helped make ECW strong. It's love for Hardcore made it legendary. After all, people don't chant WCW. ECW is, was, and forever will be a once in a lifetime company. Many aspire to become it, but that is one hell of a legacy to live up to and a massive shadow to escape from. Excellent work Ross and Cultaholic.

@hobnobbob8006

11 ай бұрын

ECW was a garbage company that appeared to and employed jackoffs and idiots. Hence why it is dead

Paul Hayman actually with the closure let it limp on for long enough to ensure that the bankruptcy court couldn't claw back some payments to the talent.

Literally was just watching the rise and fall of TNA

@marbin1991

2 жыл бұрын

Link ? ☺️

@leftwingdragon6235

2 жыл бұрын

@@marbin1991 Just search fall of TNA Cultaholic.

It is so weird seeing the evolution of Tommy Dreamer,seeing his first match against Tazmaniac where he was booed out of the building from the first bell. Then earning the crowds respect with his resolve and fighting spirit. By the end of the match, Dreamer lost, but the reactions he got from the crowd surprised everyone, even Joey Styles on commentary said "Maybe this kid will make it in ECW after all." He cemented his legacy when he lost to Sandman in match where the lower would receive 10 hits from a Singapore Cane, after each hit everyone was pleading for Tommy to give up, each time he got up, looked straight at Sandman and said,"Thank you sir, may I have another."

1995 & 1996 are such underrated years in ECW

@marbin1991

2 жыл бұрын

💯

@JRRamrodLIVE

2 жыл бұрын

Naw real ones know y’all just finding out

@chadconery8284

2 жыл бұрын

100 percent

@Thor-Orion

2 жыл бұрын

1994-1997 were there best years by a long shot.

@KingJadInfiniteHope

2 жыл бұрын

@@Thor-Orion 1995 - pre tnn

I can’t watch “WWE” because I watched it in its “hay day” when it was WWF! After many years of NOT watching wrestling ECW made me a fan again. It was like the “Wild, Wild West” of wrestling. It was allowed to go on and you couldn’t believe it!!! and knew it would eventually be shut down. Just like our alcohol fueled street parties, if you were a late 90’s teenager. It was something special that you recognized could only happen then AND for a short amount of time. If you were 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 then you were extremely lucky and you probably realized it. Screw the teenagers of the 60’s!!! Nothing will ever beat being a teenager in the late 90’s!!! It was the last era before everyone had a cellphone and the internet! It was a ridiculously special time!

Man I remember hearing rumors of this ultra violent "real wrestling" promotion that only came on one of the public access channels after midnight on the weekends where I lived. That was normally the time when I'd be up all night playing _Mortal Kombat II_ or watching the _Spawn_ cartoon, but I made it a point to tune in this one night, and that's when I became hooked on ECW. The crowd. The matches. The gore. The absurdity of it all... It was like nothing I'd ever seen, and perfect for a middle school aged kid like me.

Ross has a fantastic booming voice for this

I lived in Ohio in the 90s and the early 2000's and I would stay up past 4 am just to catch ECW sometimes it was on sometimes it was not . I was such a fan I found a t shirt from ECW at a flee market . It was 2 sizes to small. I bought it and lost weight just to wear it at a show I skipped school to go see. Thank you for the video !

Imagine if other documentaries covered this with official footage and interviews from ECW wrestlers? That.. phew.. thank God it didn't happen. You are the top guys now, pioneering ECW content in a world where there is none. Encore! Encore!

2006-2007 was the las time ecw felt like ecw

The Sandman, as Brian Zane says, is a cane type pokemon, he is immune to the kendo sticks

THIS is amazing, coming soon... the 'Rise and Fall of ROH'

@royshaheer

2 жыл бұрын

OK this is too soon but I want to observe after the new rebranding before we see this...

@alexa5675

2 жыл бұрын

@@royshaheer for sure. I wasn't saying I want this tomorrow, twas just "watch this space".

@HeartlandNewsfeed

2 жыл бұрын

@@alexa5675 I dunno...I think Sinclair Broadcast Group did a lot of damage to the brand. Even more during the pandemic. They have no roster and it's up for sale. I would imagine Tony Khan might put up a bid, considering acquiring the Sinclair archives of ROH and the intellectual property could boost a streaming deal in addition to TV.

@kshinokevin

2 жыл бұрын

Yes...

@kokotheclown2588

2 жыл бұрын

Well that aged like Milk

I still remember when I was 12 and discovered ECW on a random PPV I stumbled upon on my cable hotbox. It was a weird and eye-opening experience and I was equally confused and enthralled...it was glorious. RIP E-C-f'n-W!!

Axl Rotton talked about the Mass Transit incident and it wasn't a family emergency it was Paul Heyman fucking up his plane ticket

@carlosperalta1714

5 ай бұрын

Holy ish!

I was around for ecw,i can honestly tell you it was cooler than aew

@GregBurch

Жыл бұрын

Yeah. Aew has lost a lot of steam quickly.

@Connor-zl8gi

3 ай бұрын

@@GregBurch It's all because of one man, two words: Tony Khan

ECW One Night Stand 2005 still is one of my favorite ppvs in my time.

@justincase3772

2 жыл бұрын

Yesssss

Hard to think it's been gone for 20 years

@alexa5675

2 жыл бұрын

*FACTS*

Being a kid from Philadelphia this hits in the pheels

I love ECW. I do think that there are two companies that managed to capture some of their magic. Ring Of Honor- when they started on TV in my area, Hampton Roads, VA, they had that energy. AEW- they made a seismic shift to the the world of pro wrestling that is still being felt today and will be for years to come.

@jackmackakaheavyguyhaiku545

2 жыл бұрын

@Samuel Giam I was just talking about the vibe they capture, their respective energies are similar. Plus they all have garnered a similar loyalty from the fans.

@reesebecker4838

2 жыл бұрын

I’m also from the 757!

@bls8959

2 жыл бұрын

Aew could be something special if Khan wasn't bookng

@sicknickmondo16

Жыл бұрын

@Samuel Giam But ROH History is a major part for the evolution of AEW . If it wasn’t for a few events and if different decisions were made with ROH , There wouldn’t of been a need for AEW .

@majinnando6711

Жыл бұрын

I like your comment, reminds me of how TNA recaptured some of the WCW magic for me. Of course there were problems with the product but the X Division, ex WWE stars having a second platform to get back into relevance, and stars like Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, James Storm, and more made TNA that much more special for me, especially being a local show close to me. Props.

Ecw documantries gives tears.. always 😭

WWE and WCW were like Looney Tunes vs Disney cartoons. ECW was South Park

@KenRising1996

Жыл бұрын

In a way that's accurate

I Have a Ton of ECW DVD'S And My Favorite Angles were Shane Douglas Vs The Pitbulls Tazz Vs Sabu And Tommy Dreamer Vs Raven And My Favorite Match is the four Corners Elimination Match for the ECW World TV title at ECW Heatwave 1996 Barley Legal was an amazing PPV from Beginning to end.

I was literally searching this same topic today but didn't got a detailed video to watch, and here you are by some coincidence, uploaded the damn video 1 hour later. What can I say?

17:44 "Real Jobs" Blasphemy!!! Bollocks to Ross, Bollocks to Cultaholic

I was lucky enough to attend 4 ECW shows. It was AWESOME!! we have introduced our kids to ECW and they love it. I miss it.

@hobnobbob8006

11 ай бұрын

So ur kids find it awesome watching people staple each other in the head, smash each other with broken glass, carve each others skin with knifes and give each other second degree burns just for fun?

No idea how you managed to fit all this into a short video, great work everyone

Funded by WWE? Got its best talent constantly poached? Had a loyal fanbase that didn't translate into high ratings? Why does ECW remind me of NXT?

I was born the day ECW put on their first PPV dont you dare say im old

The thing that made Shane Douglas' infamous "The NWA is dead!" moment work? The tournament wasn't just for the NWA title, but the ECW title as well. There was a champion going in (I think Sandman in his surfer gimmick) but all his matches where for the title, and if he lost the title was vacated and determined at the end of the Tournament, I think he lost in Round 2.

Nothing today can even come close to ECW did. There's that little something that's missing from wrestling today that can't be compared to the magic ECW produced.

Do the rise and fall of ring of honor

I was ringside at Anarchy Rulz 2000. I know that ECW was in a down turn at that time, but damn that was so much fun.

Amazing work. I hope you do something like this but for WCW.

Excellent video and great narration from Ross.

It was a blast 💥 ECW was a phenomenal wrestling show good times legendary 💯❤️

I discovered eastern championship wrestling late night on local TV. I got hooked cause it had guys I remembered who had left wwf or WCW. I followed it through the extreme championship wrestling til the very end. Even made myself almost a regular at Swanson and Ritner.

Oof two bangers on this sunday. You love it

Every Divas champion rank worst to best

Vince McMahon knocks on door: Hellllllooooooo

@marbin1991

2 жыл бұрын

Haha 😂

Absolutely fantastic work as always Ross. You're knocking these vids out the park son keep er lit ;)

Listened to this in shower and it few by. Great writing and presentation Ross.

ECW...ECW....ECW!!! OH MY GOD!

bit upset they dont have more documentaries on youtube about ecw, this show was a sight to see growing up

It might not be ECW in it's Prime, but GCW is trying to produce that same energy

@ded6142

2 жыл бұрын

Not even close… ECW actually had some talent.

@sherrix6881

10 ай бұрын

It was a product of its time. Crazier shit online now

E C DUB! E C DUB! I still remember that during (or after) the Attitude era would try to catch ECW on cable on another "outlier" network after 11 pm lol. I kinda remember there was a long pause before a Tazz and Mike Awesome match and Kimona came out for 10 minute strip tease. I was sold.

Paul Heyman is both the best and worst thing to happen to ECW. He gave the promotion its identity and his creative energy helped make many stars. But his lack of ability to actually run a business meant ECW was always a promotion on life support.

I’m from Boston, the local papers made the Mass Transit incident out to be a premeditated attempted murder. It was a pre med maiming if anything

Another phenomenal video, Ross!! Completely inconsequential but I'm curious to know as to why Lawler left Raw in 2001? Unfortunately I wasn't actively watching during this time period. I think I remember hearing that Vince fired one of Lawler's (many) exes.

@codino97

2 жыл бұрын

if Im not mistaken it was due to them firing his wife Kat it was sort of a protest

@joeywrestling9536

2 жыл бұрын

@@codino97 Good call… I think that’s absolutely correct

@elhombremysterious8296

Жыл бұрын

@@codino97 Temp wife. LOL

These are as good as dark side of the Ring I love these videos thank you for making them

This video feels topical with what is happening with ROH which in a way was the successor to ECW an evolved version as Paul heyman once referred to as such. If ECW influenced 90s wrestling, ROH influenced today's wrestling.

You should do the Rise and Fall of Ring of Honor.

@lilsunny7399

2 жыл бұрын

except overlooking the recent events due to the pandemic (which are temporary) it never had a fall. Nor a major rise. It was always great wrestling but never close to the big leagues.

@vagamer522

2 жыл бұрын

@@lilsunny7399 the fall happened when the Elite left and made AEW and all this happened when ROH helped them make all in

@lilsunny7399

2 жыл бұрын

@@vagamer522 but were they really any bigger with the elite compared to say, the days of punk and danielson? Twinkle Toes and The Hardly Boys were more known for their work in Japan. Yes RoH helped with All in and as a result AEW happened. But RoH was never that big to begin with.

Great job as always, Ross

even though ecw would never work in the pg era its a reminder of how great a wrestling mind paul heyman actually has

... it sucks that it wasn't the product that brought them down; but, rather, management ...

I never watched ECW live at the time, but I got into wrestling around 11-13 in the late 90s - early 2000s. In the UK, I watched WWF on Sky One (I also have a memory of watching a Royal Rumble on channel 4 with a brother in the middle of the night around this time, but unlike some, my memorys fade and mingle), and a lot of WCW on (I think) channel 5, maybe 4? I was a huge Booker T and Lance Storm fan (and was upset how both were treated during the invasion angle). Anyway, ECW was always a mythical thing for me growing up, playground rumours about the crazy things that happened, Sabu, Rob Van Dam, and oddly New Jack were huge figures on the playgrounds. Sadly, while some great things, looking back on fresh eyes, ECW is rather meh. Perhaps due to the expectations and myth of it all?

@arthurrammusa5810

Жыл бұрын

Same here. I only got wind of ECW through their Sony PlayStation 1 video game and was surprised to see WWF acts on it namely RVD, Tazz and The Dugley Boyz. It was only then did I do a search on the company and learned about hardcore wrestling. Good Times

2:22 - 2:27 Tommy Dreamer - Dean Malenko with Rick Martel hair. Sandman - Stone Cold Tazz - Jimmy Snuka 5:15 Why it's looks like Konnan getting high and ready to punched Heyman 😅

I remember here in Jersey i use to sneak and wait every Sunday night at 1 am to watch ECW on MSG channel 20 on cable worth the beatings since it was a school night next day 😂😂

3 top moments I saw first hand when they happened in ECW...The Crucifixion of Sandman...my God literally the fans were silent then a small scatter of applause happened...Dreamer finally beats Raven...the way he finally won over Raven was cheap when everyone knew Raven was leaving for WCW but was a great moment for Dreamer... Barely Legal 97... seeing that it is on PPV for the first time was so epic and seeing Terry Funk win the 3 way dance then the world title was monumental and something I'll never forget Funk's win made everyone in the arena cry because he was a God to us all E-C-Dub 4EVER ☝🏾🤘🏾🔥💪🏾👍🏾👏🏾🙏🏾🍻🖕🏾

MAN! How many hours I spent in South Philly watching this at the arena.....MAN!!

Since you guys are British, and most of your viewers are American, I for one would love a video like this on British companies like World of Sport.

Those terry funk matches with sabu were just brutal …miss ecw

I say this after every ECW (or WCW) overview like this but.. I still wonder what would have happened if ecw and WCW had actually joined forces into one show, then possibly also with roh, TNA probably would not have happened, but maybe it would have worked, if the egos didn't clash too much.

@robertt9342

Жыл бұрын

Nothing, they were both going bankrupt.

Hope GCW will be the successor of ECW in the future

good video

Fun fact. Tito Santana was my Spanish teacher in middle school lol

I enjoy these in depth break downs

Great stuff!!!

ecw was popular and well received when it just ran out of money which is the real shame

I'll never forget staying up late watching ECW as a teenager. So much better than WWF or WCW at the time.

Went to a few ECW shows in Tallahassee Florida

ECDUBBS!!!

ECW was edgy way before wwf ushered in the Attitude Era

Wait. Didn't ECW rise again when the WWE relaunched it (lol)???

@thespectraldogg1277

Жыл бұрын

Yes. It was called ECW One Night Stand but then went garbage shortly after.

I suppose your channel should do a video essay on Ring Of Honor sonetime in the near future eh

I remember all of this and it was a sad day in wrestling 😒😒 I had both ECW video games on PlayStation and I watched it on TNN 🤼🤼🤼 The WWE version of ECW was pure garbage 🗑️

This is a great video.

Even if Heyman had money to keep ECW afloat without stealing from his “talent,” it would have gotten shut down for being too stupid and too violent.

I swear it came back after that… I was born in 1997 and I remember watching ecw fued with raw and they were part of the 2008 wwe game….

The ONLY problem I have with this vid is that he called taz UFC inspired which isn't true. The UFC wasn't around by that time but mixed martial arts technically was. Other than that great vid guys!

@Skorpio420

2 жыл бұрын

UFC started in 1993. It just wasn't the juggernaut it is now. In fact it was banned off pay-per-view for a while for being "too violent" (which it wasn't).

If I wasn’t 10 yrs old I would’ve done anything to go to one night stand in 2005 . I remember seeing the “if cena wins we riot” and legit getting chills that was an intense show

@stevenlopez6645

Жыл бұрын

That was 06 you dumba*s

I'm from CT and this used to come on a the really horrible station and I used to spend so much time adjusting my TV antenna to watch it.

Gen X is 1965-1980 that's 41-56 years ago damn ECW did it all. Also it went from 1992-2007 so that's 14-29 years ago and it's final stand was 14 years ago

It was a great promotion of pro wrestling without a doubt, when it comes to a graphic hardcore no holds barred anything goes type of wrestling when there's blood, weapons, and much higher risk flying moves that can land like an atomic bomb. We will never forget ECW, 4LIFE!

@hobnobbob8006

11 ай бұрын

Except for the fact that it wasnt a pro wrestling company

Ecw was something else

Legendary

Rise and Fall of Lucha Underground??

Man that dude with that straw hat was always there front and center 😂

I remember Jerry called ECW Extremely Crappie Wrestling 😂😂😂

@cripbk2147

Жыл бұрын

Lol

All Heyman had to do was have some type of business people with him

To be fiar to the new ECW. I don't think it was that bad. The main issue that it had, was well. It had ECW's name. If it didn't, it would've been a success. It's why NXT after the weird seasonal game show phase, was a success when it became it's own show. If the revived ECW, wasn't ECW and had a diff name, it would've worked.

@robertt9342

Жыл бұрын

My opinion is that NXT is such an obvious WWE product, it actually undermines the WWE.

Happy Halloween 🎃 👻✌️

Thank you Paul Heyman also Paul Heyman is known for a lot of legendary things one of them being of course ECW

Jan 13th? Guilty as charged 2001 took place on Jan 7, 2001. I watched Bloodsport ECW: the most violent matches and Paul E. himself said that, where did jan 13, 2001 came from?